Goodbye to You
No-one's happy about today's retrieval mission, but it's just what good friends do. Cast * Jody Marsh * Janine De Luca * Amelia Spens * Veronica McShell * Maxine Myers * Sam Yao Plot Things We Need To Do Jody is your operator today, but she'd rather not be. Amelia reminds her sometimes being a good friend means facing hard truths. You set off to find Sam. Some Peace Janine couldn't rest for this mission, so joins Jody and Amelia. She feels guilty Tom is alive and Sam is not, especially because Tom hasn't given them any useful information yet. When We Find Him Amelia and Jody remark on how surreal it is that Sam's being honoured in such an official way, and that he'd think it was hilarious. When It's Done Veronica has a favour to ask - if you see your zombie twin, try to take a tissue sample. She also has some messages of condolence which Jody can't bear to hear until the mission is done. Better Get Away Now you're getting closer Maxine's also on comms - she can't sit and do nothing while this particular mission happens. You've picked up some Zoms you need to lose before moving in. He Hasn't Turned Yet Amelia dispatches packs of zoms with efficiency as you arrive at Sam's location. The three of you search for while before finding Sam in a dumpster... and he hasn't turned yet. Transcript JODY MARSH: You ready, Five? sighs Me either. AMELIA SPENS: You must have had to do this before, Jody. JODY MARSH: Unlike you, I try to look after my friends, Amelia. AMELIA SPENS: This is looking after him. JODY MARSH: Yeah. Sorry. Yeah, I know! I have done it before. When Runner Six – in the attack on Abel, when the old Runner Six got bitten, me and Seven went after her later. She wouldn’t have wanted us to leave her that way. I think we got her before she ate anyone. She would have wanted that. AMELIA SPENS: And that is what this is. The final kindness. I’m not even charging a fee for my services. I liked him. JODY MARSH: Yeah. Okay. You’ve got the mobile tracker? AMELIA SPENS: Here. It’ll pick up the signal from the tracking device sewn into his jacket when we get closer. JODY MARSH: Alright then. Maxine’s nursing the newborn. Paula’s in the infirmary. So’s Janine, finally getting that wrist splinted. It’s down to us. We’re going to find Sam – what was Sam – and do the thing we need to do before we can have a funeral. JODY MARSH: Anywhere near? AMELIA SPENS: I’m not picking anything up yet. We’ll need to be closer. JODY MARSH: How could he even have got out of that building? Wasn’t it locked? AMELIA SPENS: Zombies. They get places. They’re like shopping trolleys. I once saw one up a tree. JODY MARSH: Shopping trolley? AMELIA SPENS: Zombie. God knows how it got there. It was just staring at the ground a bit pathetically and growling. JODY MARSH: This city… the earth’s already taking it back. Look, a sapling’s planted itself in that news agent’s window. In fifty years, it’ll be completely overgrown. The earth takes back all of us in the end. AMELIA SPENS: Might as well try to enjoy it before we go, eh? And for what it’s worth, I think he enjoyed his life. He got more than many. JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Marsh? Are you receiving me? JODY MARSH: Got you, Janine. Shouldn’t you be in bed, with your broken wrist? JANINE DE LUCA: Couldn’t. JODY MARSH: Yeah. JANINE DE LUCA: That my insane homocidal worthless brother should be alive, and Mister Yao… AMELIA SPENS: Yes. Have you got anything worth having out of Tom? JANINE DE LUCA: We’ve locked him up, pumped him full of anti-psychotics, but he hasn’t said anything else of value. It’s been forty-eight hours, and I don’t know why he tried to steal the baby, or who else he involved. The zombie that looks like you was saying “Greenshoot”, Five. That’s the resettlement project you were sent here to work on. If I knew how this all connected, I could keep people safe, but I don’t! I can’t! On long range scanners, we saw that Mister Yao’s tracker moved after he was locked in the building. Presumably that partially sentient zombie opened the door again for some reason, and he wandered out and towards the city. But Mister Yao hasn’t moved from the same rough radius in twenty-four hours. That’s what zombies do. When there’s no food source nearby, they just stand there. JODY MARSH: If he were here, if we were going after you, what would he say? JANINE DE LUCA: I don’t know. I just – I don’t know. AMELIA SPENS: He’d say it’s alright to cry, I expect. We’re nearly there. We need to do this as quickly as I can, to give everyone some peace. JODY MARSH: I keep expecting to hear him pop up on the radio, you know? AMELIA SPENS: You’ll probably hear his voice for a while. It happens. JODY MARSH: Did you hear that King Jamie had sent a message? AMELIA SPENS: I’d have been amazed if he hadn’t. sighs Thing is, we never got on, Sam and I. Not really. Well, I don’t specifically get on with people in general. There are things that I want, and sometimes people help me get them. I think he looked down on me. JODY MARSH: We all look down on you. AMELIA SPENS: laughs Yes, but his looking down on me bothered me. Well. A bit. The Ministry have sent a message of condolence, along with a respectful infection-proof cremation coffin. I suppose at least we know it’s not secondhand, which is quite unusual for a gift these days. JODY MARSH: I never thought I’d – you know what? Sam would have thought this was all so funny! AMELIA SPENS: He’d have been going, “Yeah, cremation coffin? When I’m friends with the King of England? What about some lying in state? Seems only fair.” JODY MARSH: He’d want to lie in state in the Natural History Museum! AMELIA SPENS: You know, when we’ve found him, maybe we can ask the Ministry if he can do that. JODY MARSH: When we find him. Yes. VERONICA MCSHELL: Hello, Runner Four. Hello, Runner Five. Hello, Amelia Spens. JODY MARSH: Got some news for us, Veronica? VERONICA MCSHELL: You’re still closing on the tracker ping in the center of the city. I just wanted to ask you – oh, it doesn’t really matter. Keep your eyes open, I suppose. I’ve done some tests on the baby and on Janine’s brother, Tom. I can’t find anything out of the ordinary, but if you should happen to see that zombie that looks like you, Runner Five - JODY MARSH: We’ll be creeped out, and running in the opposite direction, actually! VERONICA MCSHELL: Or you could attempt to capture it, or at least take tissue samples. I know it’s difficult, but there must be a connection between all the things that happened! Maybe Tom made that zombie. Maybe something else! If I can examine it, I could try to find out more, and the more we know about what happened, the safer we’ll all be! AMELIA SPENS: Yes, I suppose that’s reasonable. And I’ll certainly be happy to keep watch whilst Runners Four and Five attempt to take tissue samples from a zombie. JODY MARSH: Oh, Janine wanted me to read some of the messages that have been coming in to the Rofflenet memorial board. She’s taking a few minutes. She’ll be back soon. “Eileen and Edna of Trebizond House join with Abel Township in mourning the sudden loss of Sam Yao. His posts on children’s TV warmed our cockles.” “Immanuel Nyosi is thinking of Abel Township today. Sam saved my life once by broadcasting that a horde was approaching through supermarket loudspeakers. I’m not even one of his runners. May he find peace.” There are lots and lots of these. Hundreds. Jack and Eugene and Phil and Zoe have sent one that’s about fifteen pages long. I think he was quite special. Not just to us, maybe. JODY MARSH: Don’t read them all now. We can read them when we’re finished. When it’s done. JANINE DE LUCA: You’re closing in on his signal now. Your close range tracker should start to work shortly, Miss Spens. This is where I first found him, you know. Hiding in a wheelie bin. Do you think they remember, Doctor Myers? MAXINE MYERS: We know they remember some things. We can’t – sighs We can’t think about it. If they remembered anything about themselves, they’d want – Paula’s time is nearly done. She’s constantly connected to the plasmapherisis machine, now. It can’t clean her blood up faster than the virus is reproducing. She’s seen the baby, she’s held her. And that is more than we thought we might get. JODY MARSH: You don’t have to see this, Maxine. JANINE DE LUCA: I can tell you when it’s done. MAXINE MYERS: I thought about that, but what would I do? Sit in my bunk and try to nurse while you’re doing this? My daughter will be doubly an orphan in twenty-four hours. I need to see this. AMELIA SPENS: You’ll be a good mother. MAXINE MYERS: I’ll have to be. Did you know it was Sam who convinced me? Not by words, but I’d never met a man before who I thought, “Yeah, this would work with you.” It wouldn’t spoil anything. It would be an addition. I think he was the best man I ever met. AMELIA SPENS: We’re close. Only another few streets over. JODY MARSH: And we’ve picked up a tail of zombies. AMELIA SPENS: There’ll be more when we start shooting. Better get away from these while we can. moan, gunshots, zombies splatter, tracker beeps AMELIA SPENS: There. That’s dealt with the zoms closest to the entrance of that alleyway. JODY MARSH: We’re sure he’s in there? AMELIA SPENS: It’s not “him” anymore, he’s gone. “It” is in there. To the left at the end of that alley. JODY MARSH: Whichever of us has a clean shot first takes it. Instant, okay? AMELIA SPENS: I’ll guard the entrance. JODY MARSH: Yes, of course you will. AMELIA SPENS: Because it’ll be easy for you to get trapped in there, and you won’t be able to do it instantly. Everyone thinks they can, no one ever can. JODY MARSH: Come on, Five. Down we go. Can’t see anyone, just a dead end. shouts No zoms here, Amelia! Sure it’s not the next building along? AMELIA SPENS: Try the dumpsters. JODY MARSH: Ready with your weapon, Five. dumpster lid, rats squeak Ugh! Nothing in that one but rats. Oh, and a corpse! Nice. Five, you want to do the honors with the next one? I’ll cover you. AMELIA SPENS: Be quick! Another seven zoms incoming from the high street. lid slams open JODY MARSH: Oh, this one’s also – no, wait. rummages SAM YAO: whispers Runner Five, is that you? JODY MARSH: Oh God, he hasn’t turned yet. Five, we’re going to have to kill him. Codex Artefact Handwritten Note (2) Janine had this on file - I, Sam Yao, being of sound mind and body - well, mostly, I suppose - and because Janine insisted, do set down my wishes here in the event of my death. I mean, I don't really have anything of value to leave to anyone? Give Maxine all my stuff that she thinks the baby might like to see; there are some photos of my family in my box and my old phone which should have addresses and names in, except I haven't charged it for years. Nadia's been after my good headphones for ages, so she can have them. I don't know, everyone can have what they want! Oh yeah though, I'm not much of a drinker, but I found six bottles of chocolate liqueur once in an abandoned house. They're under my bunk. Have a sickly-sweet party. Remember me. If there's anywhere we go after this, I'm there, still loving you all. Category:Mission Category:Season Four